Metallurgical furnace



Jan. 20, .1931. w, lTH 1,789,847

METALLURGICAL FURNACE Filed July 25, 192

MLLIAM H SMITH ATTORNIYS Patented Jan. 20, 1931 WILLIAM H. SMITH; OFEAST CLEVELAND, OHTO METALLURGICAL FURNACE Application filed July25,1927. Serial No. 203,163.

This invention relatesto metallurgical furnaces and especially that typeof furnace having rolls or disks therein carrled by cooled shafts andoperable to convey sheets or other 6 articles placed thereon tl'iroughthe heated zone of the furnace. In the type of device to which thisinvention appertains the different rolls are carried on horizontalhollow shafts, either rotatable or fixed, which are cooled by lcirculation of'fiuid therethrongh, generally water but sometimes air.Owing to the high 1 temperature to which such furnaces are oftentimessubjected, there are few materials from which such rolls cansuccessfully be made, and even that material is often insufficient inmechanical strength at the operating temperature. Furthermore seriousstrains are created by the wide differences in temperature between therim and shaft, since a water cooled shaft is ordinarily maintained attemperature below the boiling point of water. Accordingly it is notsufficient merely to adopt an alloy which will withstand the temperatureconditions, but it is also necessary so to design the rolls as tosustain the strain due to unequal thermal expansion and also to transmitthepower necessary to operate the same. 7

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application Ihave shown a preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 1 is a verticalsectional View through a furnace equipped with my improved rolls; Fig.

2 is a horizontal sectional View through a part of said furnace lookingdownwardly upon said rolls; Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a singleroll; Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view through a slightly modifiedform of roll and roll-hub; Fig. 5 is a development of the hub shown inFig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the cores employed incasting the roll shown in Fig. 3.

The base 1, roof 2, and side walls 3 of the furnace may be of anysuitable or desired shape, material, or construction except that thelatter are provided at spaced points withapertures 4 through whichproject the hori-' zontal hollow shafts 5 all of which are connected bysuitable joints to a feed pipe 6 whereby water, air, or other coolingfluid is fed to" the shaft interiors. hollow shafts consist of mountedin suitable swive the rolls revolved thereon.

Preferably these pipes rotatably l-bearings" 7, al-

.tll'fiflgll in some cases they may be fixed and When the rolls 5 arerevoluble' on the shafts and the shafts also revoluble in tl'ieir'bearings, themotion will actually occur wherever the friction isleast.

' Each roll comprises a hub a T111112. \Vhile it 'is' "within myinvention 10, spokes 11, and

to split tl e hub and rim and boltfthem togetl'ier' for i use, it isprefer hub and" run each 111 one p each" withthe other. The

elongated shape, hollowed out to fit the shafts,

able to make the iece and integral hub .is made of and preferablyhasits'middle part hollowed out slightly more than the end parts asindicated at 13, each end having a circumferentially continuous bearingportion 10. The

spokes 11 are integral with this hub, and between adjacent spokes thebody of the hub is formed with slots l idefining the spaced longitudinalwebs 15. The

ends of the hub are formed with projections 16 and recesses 17,respectively, so that when applied to the shaft, they maybe driven onefrom the other. Each of the spokes ispre ferably made of pronouncedserpentine or S shape so as to facilitate radial expansion and furtherto this end, each spoke is preferably contraction, and,

made comparatively thin in a circumferential direction and wide in anaxial direction as illustrated in all the views.

As a result of the shape of the spokes, the

dimensions of the spoke, and the slotting of the hub, a sufficientyielding is permitted be-, tween the hub and periphery of the disk toaccommodate the differences in temperature. The rolls carried byadjacent shafts are displaced or staggered by interposing spacers 20 atproper points. Sleeved on the projecting' end of each of the shafts 5 isa driving hub 21 having teeth and recesses to cooperate with' the hub orspacer adjacent thereto, and provided at its outer end with a suitabledriving element gear 22 adapted to mesh such as a'worm with one of theseriesof worms 23 Carried, on the drive 4 thehubis ferentiallycontinuous bearing portion and a plurality of longitudinal slotstherebetween, said slots defining webs, spokes integral with said websand a rim carried by said spokes.

2. A roll for metallurgical furnaces comprising rim, spokes, and a hub,said hub formed between adjacent spokes with longitudinal slots eachof-which extends from a point near one end to a point near the other endof said hub and the end portion of each hub being continuouscircumferentially.

3. A roll for metallurgical furnaces comprising rim, spokes, and a hub,the body of said hub having independent radially yieldable portions bywhich said spokes are carried, and the ends of said hub being formedWith projections and recesses adapted to interengage with an adjacenthub.

l. A roll for metallurgical furnaces comprising rim, spokes, and a hub,all of the same being cast in one-piece of a high temperature resistingalloy, said hub being formed with projections and recesses adapted tointerengage with an adjacent hub and the spokes being sufficientlycurved in the plane of said rim to have one or more portionssubstantially perpendicular to the roll radius whereby the spokes arerendered radially yieldable.

5. A roll for metallurgical furnaces comprising rim, spokes, and a hub,all cast integral of a high temperature resisting alloy, and the spokesbeing sufiiciently curved in the plane of said rim to have one or moreportions thereof substantially perpendicular to the roll radius wherebysaid spokes are rendered radially yieldable.

6. A roll for metallurgical furnaces comprising rim, spokes and a hub,all cast in one piece of a high temperature resisting alloy, said spokesbeing comparatively thin in a direction circumferentially of said rolland wide in a direction axially of said roll, each of said spokes beingsufiiciently curved in the plane of said rim to have one or moreportions substantially perpendicular to the roll radius whereby saidspokes are rendered radially yieldable.

7 A roll for metallurgical furnaces comprising a rim and a hub ofgreater axial extension than said rim, said hub having longitudinalslots spaced angularly therearound and each extending from a point nearone signature,

WILLIAM H. SMITH.

